Wednesday, September 24, 2008

NEW PAINTINGS

DECOYland

DESTINO

Alice in DECOYland

My latest, smaller, more 'cartoon' series of paintings will be on display this Sunday at the Art Whino booth, Crafty Bastards DC.

This series is a collection of things i loved as a child from two artist, Salvador Dali and Walt Disney. I had begun drawing images of Alice in Wonderland for a project of mine. I have always loved quotes from lewis carroll, but had especially been fond of sketches I had seen once on exhibit by Dali. There were drawings after drawings of alice floating along Dali's world, always with a hoop or rope.

The horses in the series are named after Charles Bukowski. Horses have always seemed magical to me. Also because Bukowski hated Mickey Mouse.

And then, Destiny...DESTINO

Destino is a short animated cartoon released in 2003 by The Walt Disney Company. Destino is unique in that its production originally began in 1945, 58 years before its eventual release. The project was a collaboration between American animator Walt Disney and Spanish painter Salvador Dalí, and features music written by Mexican songwriter Armando Dominguez.

Destino (the Spanish, Portuguese and Italian word for "destiny") was storyboarded by Disney studio artist John Hench and artist Salvador Dalí for eight months in late 1945 and 1946; however, financial concerns caused Disney to cease production. The Walt Disney Company, then Walt Disney Studios, was plagued by many financial woes in the World War II era. Hench compiled a short animation test of about 18 seconds in the hopes of rekindling Disney's interest in the project, but the production was no longer deemed financially viable and put on indefinite hiatus.

In 1999, Walt Disney's nephew Roy Edward Disney, while working on Fantasia 2000, unearthed the dormant project and decided to bring it back to life. Disney Studios France, the company's small Parisian production department, was brought on board to complete the project. The short was produced by Baker Bloodworth and directed by French animator Dominique Monfrey in his first directorial role. A team of approximately 25 animators deciphered Dalí and Hench's cryptic storyboards (with a little help from the journals of Dalí's wife Gala Dalí and guidance from Hench himself), and finished Destino's production. The end result is mostly traditional animation, including Hench's original footage, but it also contains some computer animation. The 18 second original footage that is included in the finished product is the segment with the two tortoises.

The six-minute short follows the love story of Chronos and the ill-fated love he has for a mortal female. The story continues as the female dances through surreal scenery inspired by Dalí's paintings.